


Contingency Plans

by spideraudrey



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Dark Owl - Freeform, Dark Owl Spoilers, Drabble, F/M, season two spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-11 07:12:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12930159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spideraudrey/pseuds/spideraudrey
Summary: I might have gotten a little heavy with this latest episode?A take on what could possibly happen with 'The Queen's Fight' TrilogyAlso a take on what Ladybug might think about her and Chat's identities





	Contingency Plans

This is exactly why they have contingency plans. For when things like /this/ happen. 

The first close call was Lady Wifi, and Marinette thinks it was probably a sign that it was her best friend beneath that mask. Because of course she couldn’t get the mask off that way, but it was a wakeup call. If Alya had gone for her miraculous instead, then she would have been screwed. 

That was the spark- the whole reason Marinette sat down and planned out as much as she could to keep herself safe from such a situation. But of course it only brought up more questions. The biggest being: how much did she trust Chat Noir with?

The quick answer? Everything.

But that wasn’t really the full truth of it.

Of course she trusts Chat with everything. They risk themselves and the citizens of Paris with every battle, with every /moment/ they’re transformed. She trusts him to have her back in and out of a fight, and she trusts that he’s a good person beneath his mask. But it’s safer if he doesn’t know who she is. If she doesn’t know who he is. It’s safer for everyone. So while she trusts him, she still has to keep the truth from him.

She had to make contingency plans for more than just if she got cornered alone by an akuma. Chat had been out of commision then, but that didn’t mean the exact situation would happen again. What if they got trapped together? Their timers running out with no way to back out? Just how far would she have to push it? Where is the line for showing him beneath her mask?

She agonized over the question. Just how bad would a situation have to be for her to give up her identity to her partner? And in the end, she didn’t set real parameters for herself, she merely told herself ‘for as long as I can go’. She decided to keep her mask to herself until a situation would arise that would give her no other option.

And then Dark Owl happened. And it was her fault, really. She let Mr. Damocles’ name slip, let the information go that got him taunted, humiliated, akumatized. Really, it would have been what she deserved to have to let her secret go. The situation was probably the most ideal too- no outside risk, just her and Chat in the shipping container. But no. She still couldn’t let it go like that. And she couldn’t make that decision for him either.

They were /both/ running out of time, not just her. It wouldn’t just be her mask on the line, it would be his too, and she wanted to save that for him as much as for herself. So she did some quick thinking, thankful for their earlier plan giving her the exact tools she needed to fool the tainted vigilante.

She’d never been so close to Chat without his mask before. It was… so real. To touch his hand, no gloves in the way as she assured him he would still be keeping his miraculous. It was touching to know that he would hand it over to her so readily, to know that he would keep his eyes closed just because she asked him to. She had already known before, but that moment cemented in her mind just how lucky she was to have him as her partner.

They got through it without removing their masks. Metaphorically speaking.

But this? This is toeing the line she had drawn for herself so thoroughly that she isn’t sure whether she’s pushed it or not.

Really, she should have realized this fight would be too much for her and Chat alone. Sure, they’ve fought akuma victims and their armies before, but never more than one akuma at a time. Their minions are one thing, most of them are seemingly brainless, just puppets being told what to do. But this is /three/ akumas. And they’re strong.

She should have realized it would be an issue with Chloe getting akumatized again. The personal ties there were just too much for everyone involved. Then again, she doesn’t actually blame Chloe this time. How could she? Seeing her father get akumatized would have been heartbreaking enough, Marinette can’t even fathom the emotional ramifications of having her long lost mother return, only to become akumatized as well.

Emotions were high with all three of them, and having them unite under Hawkmoth? It spelled out clear disaster for Ladybug and Chat Noir.

And now that disaster has struck. Both of them have used their abilities, their miraculous both ticking down as they run out of time.

Malediktor hits an iron beam above them, knocking it loose from the Eiffel Tower as if he were cutting butter, and Ladybug only has time for her gut reaction. The beam tumbles, knocking others down as it goes, and Ladybug jumps to her partner, knocking him off his feet and out of the way.

Fortunately, it saves him from being crushed by that particular beam. Unfortunately, they both end up stuck under a pile of rubble. Iron cases them in on all sides and Chat’s transformation runs out first, Ladybug closing her eyes immediately at the flash of light.

“Chat? Chat are you alright?”

“Yes, My Lady, thanks to you, this cat still has his nine lives.”

Ladybug’s brow furrows, his voice sounding out of place. Suddenly she wonders if the magic has an effect on voice recognition, and she quickly chases the thought off. She doesn’t have time to worry about that, it’s probably just the situation they’re in that’s putting a strain on his tone.

There’s a slight creaking above them and Ladybug is quick to speak again. “I need you to close your eyes. We’ll do it like we did with Dark Owl; I have a snack in my bag for the kwamis.”

“Ladybug…”

She doesn’t have the luxury of making sure his eyes are closed, and she lets the transformation drop. There’s no intake of air, no screaming, no words at all, and she knows it’s because her partner listened, just like he always does, and closed his eyes for her.

She nods despite their closed eyes, knowing Tikki would take care of the rest.

There’s a banging above them, and they can all hear Queen Wasp’s voice taunting them. The sound is what Marinette assumes to be her heels slamming down against the iron beams that are settled around them.

But then there’s another sound, what sounds like a noise of anger from Queen Wasp and a thud. “The cavalry has arrived!”

“Uhh, fox… girl? Maybe you should focus on what you’re doing?”

Marinette freezes at the unfamiliar voices, tilting her head to try and get better sound focus.

“Right! I’ll distract Queen Buzzkill, you work on that pile of debris! Ladybug has got to be okay under there!”

“Who’re you calling a buzzkill?!”

“Ladybug, we’re ready.” Tikki’s voice pulls Marinette out of her focus, and she knows now more than ever that they’re still on a time crunch. She doesn’t know who the new voices belong to, but they’re obviously trying to help, and if the male voice is doing what he was told, then he’ll be trying to uncover them. They’ve got to retransform before that happens.

“Okay, Tikki, spots on!”

There’s a twin call of, “Claws out!” And then she knows it’s safe to open her eyes once again. She and Chat made it again without revealing themselves, seemingly out of pure luck and coincidence. 

The unknown voice doesn’t free them before Chat Cataclysms his way out of the debris, and the poor guy ends up falling right next to them, blinking awkwardly. All three just kind of sit there for a moment, Ladybug and Chat taking in the appearance of the newcomer and the newcomer just kind of staring back.

“Nice goggles, dude.” Chat breaks the silence and Ladybug rolls her eyes, but it kicks her into gear.

“Right, let’s do this, the fight isn’t over yet, Chat Noir.”

“Yes, My Lady.” He grins saluting the boy in green before darting after her.

There are a lot of questions to be answered, like who the newcomers are, and where they came from. Like whether they’re really here to help or to secretly hinder. Like why they came now. All these questions and more weigh heavy on her, but they have to be pushed aside until this particular battle is over.

And yet, the most important question on Ladybug’s mind is: How much longer can she keep her mask on in front of Chat Noir?


End file.
